December 28, 2015
Be Part of the 2016 Membership Directory & Resource Guide 
 
The 2016 Annual Membership Directory deadline is fast approaching!  Don't miss this opportunity to showcase your business and services to other members.  If you have not yet reserved your space through ECM Publishers, please do so this week. Contact ECM today!
  
Why advertise?
1.  High Readership from your Target Market.  Members want to do business with other members.  The directory will allow them to quickly identify members in the category of services they are seeking.  Enhancing your listing with an ad, which is referenced in your listing (see our ad on page __), allows you to give a more in-depth look at what makes you an industry leader.  
 
2.  Cost Effective Marketing Tool.  With 1/4 page ads starting at $290, for one year of exposure, this affordable option, which directly reaches your target audience, enhances your current marketing mix.  
 
3.  To support the Chamber.  A portion of the revenue generated comes back to the Chamber for use towards benefits and programs.  In addition, this directory is used when soliciting new members, to demonstrate the robust community organizations involved in our Chamber.   
 
If you have any questions, please feel free to call the Chamber office.  Thank you for making our annual directory a SUCCESS!
Committed to Business... for YOU.
We are United for Minnesota Jobs 
 
The Chamber of Commerce network works every day to strengthen our state's business environment. We have the opportunity to take a significant step forward with the state's general fund surplus that has grown to nearly $2 billion.

Our goal is to help all businesses be competitive no matter their size, type or location. The Minnesota Chamber, as leader of the United for Jobs Coalition, encourages policymakers to use the surplus to best position Minnesota for a strong economic future. Our No. 1 priority for the 2016 Legislature is to reduce the statewide business property tax levy. The surplus also offers opportunity to provide strategic investments in our state's aging transportation infrastructure system.

Minnesota businesses face a variety of challenges in today's global economy. There is no single fix. But year in and year out, employers identify taxes as a key barrier to creating and retaining jobs in Minnesota.

The statewide business property tax is especially onerous. Read more. 
Register Now for Early January Events
 
We are in the midst of the holiday season but be sure to mark your calendars for the events scheduled in early January. Jump right in to networking on Tuesday, January 5 for Coffee Break with Paul Eggen State Farm Insurance and Judy Berg Cakes. On January 7, our Residential Real Estate members are invited to Industry Roundtable and to end the week, join us for our Legislative Breakfast with invited speakers Senate Majority Leader Tom Bakk and House Speaker Kurt Daudt.  We look forward to seeing you in 2016!
 
Events Calendar
 
 
Monday
Tuesday
Wednesday
Thursday
Friday
28
29
30
31


1

Happy New Year!
4
5

8:00 a.m. 		6
7
7:30 a.m.
8

7:30 a.m.
11
12
13

8:00 a.m.
 
Noon
14

8:00 a.m.
15
18
19
Noon


20

7:30 a.m. 		21
4:30 p.m.
22
3 p.m.

Did You Know?
Do you have a New Year's Resolution about your business in 2016?  How does the Chamber fit into your business growth strategy?  What benefits will you take advantage to increase your profitability or create new jobs?  Anyone who shares their Chamber related resolution will be put into a drawing for a complimentary ticket to January 28's Breakfast with Champions! Click here to share your resolution.
Tips to Retain Employees
 
Our friends at Dakota-Scott Workforce Investment Board recently shared some helpful ways to find and keep good workers that were presented in The Kiplinger Letter (12/04/15) and we thought it might help to spark your own ideas as you continue employee recruitment in 2016.

*Recruit in adjacent industries for people with skills that can be adapted to your needs with adequate training.
*Establish internships and apprentice programs to tap younger candidates.
*Welcome back former employees who may be more than happy to return. Many companies are reversing policies against taking back folks who flew the coop.
*Don't overlook veterans. And be open to hiring former felons, giving them a second chance. You can earn a tax credit of up to $9,600 per hire.
*Cultivate a reputation as a great place to work... important to millennials and others. Thank job applicants for their interest... they'll think well of you for it.
*Consider expanding your referral bonus program to spouses, ex-workers, etc. Referred workers are typically of higher quality and more familiar with your business.
*Provide solid career advancement opportunities through mentoring and continuing education. They'll entice star workers to stick with your company.
Member Spotlight: Feels Like Family
 
Lisé Freking 
Did you ever feel like the new kid on the block, but you were welcomed with open arms by your new-found friends? That is exactly how I felt when I joined the Dakota County Regional Chamber of Commerce. As a recent member on the Board of Directors, my fellow board members have made me feel like a long-lost friend. To top it off, the Chamber members I have met at Coffee Breaks and at the Business Excellence Awards have really made me feel like family. I look forward to meeting more Chamber members at upcoming events such as the Why Not Wednesdays, WomEn's Circle gatherings, Legislative Breakfasts, Annual Golf Classic and more. As a Strategy and Marketing Director at Thomson Reuters, I am excited to represent my company and the Chamber while continuing to learn and grow personally and professionally through the Chamber.
 
New Members
We welcome the following new members!
 

Dakota Chiropractic
Lyon Events Management, LLC
New Horizon Academy
Piepho Moving & Storage


New York Life 
 Cory Campbell  
860 Blue Gentian Road, Suite 330
Eagan, MN 55121
View website HERE

As a licensed Agent of New York Life Insurance Company, Cory offers a variety of products that can help you meet a number of insurance and financial needs, including, but not limited to college funding, retirement, managing costs for extended periods of care and lifetime income strategies. Please contact him to help you fully analyze your 
 needs and recommend appropriate solutions.



PR Caffeine
Bonnie Rae Backer 
2438 East 117th Street, Suite 100
Burnsville, MN 55337
View website HERE

PR Caffeine is a leading provider of digital marketing services. EspreSEO™is PR Caffeine's full menu of SEO strategies that they use to perk up your search rankings. They know what the search engines like and don't like. Their job is to serve up your organization's content just the way they want it. A shot of EspreSEO does for your business what caffeine does for you - IT ENERGIZES IT!

Watch for more information about these fine companies in upcoming Weekly Updates.

Dakota County Regional Chamber of Commerce
3352 Sherman Court, Suite 201
Eagan, MN 55121
651.452.9872